Cali Group worked with global technology firm NEC Corporation of America to integrate NEC’s facial recognition technology into its CaliBurger loyalty program. The restaurant chain will use AI-enabled self-ordering kiosks to provide customers the option of immediately activating their loyalty accounts as they approach kiosks using NEC’s NeoFace® facial recognition software, eliminating the need of swiping a card or typing in identifying information.

As shown in the demo video, the loyalty account shows a customer’s favorite historical meal packages, enabling the customer to complete the ordering transaction in a matter of seconds. The kiosk pilot program is now at CaliBurger’s Pasadena location, where the Quick Serve Restaurant chain showcases new technologies developed by its parent company. If customers are pleased with the new ordering experience, the kiosks will be rolled out to CaliBurger’s global locations next year with the additional ability to allow customers to pay using their faces.

"NEC’s face recognition software technology is considered among the world’s most accurate, making it an ideal tool for retailers seeking to provide the best possible customer service and convenience for their customers," said Matt Worley, Vice President, Retail Solutions, NEC Corporation of America. "We are committed to helping Cali Group reinvent the customer experience in the best ways possible, and I encourage anyone attending NRF 2018 to come see a demonstration of the technology in action."

"Face-based loyalty significantly reduces the friction associated with loyalty program registration and use; further, it enables a restaurant chain like CaliBurger to provide a customized, one-on-one interactive experience at the ordering kiosk," said John Miller, Chairman and CEO of Cali Group. "Our goal for 2018 is to replace credit card swipes with face-based payments. Facial recognition is part of our broader strategy to enable the restaurant and retail industries to provide the same kinds of benefits and conveniences in the built world that customers experience with retailers like Amazon in the digital world."

Today, 64% of shoppers want a more fluid in-store experience – personal service without lines or waits. Give customers that kind of experience and 45% are more likely to make a purchase on the spot—even if the price tag is a bit higher.

It’s no secret the world has become a much more dangerous and complicated place in the 21st century. Terrorism itself has evolved, and so has the way our federal government is combatting and defending against it.

What has become clear is that violent extremist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda have evolved to become influencers and master manipulators online and abroad. They’re not as focused on becoming an army of covert foot soldiers attempting to penetrate U.S. borders. The result of this is the evolution of the lone wolf attacker, a typically misguided and desperate soul who loses touch with reality and is somehow convinced or brainwashed into inflicting maximum damage through violence. We’ve seen this play out recently in the United Kingdom.

The perpetrators of these terrible atrocities may be influenced by extreme political ideologies claiming religious motivations, or they may be disgruntled or mentally ill. In many cases, a combination of these factors are at play. The point is, profiles for these lone-wolf terrorists are consistently challenging to identify, which therefore makes prevention of individual attacks particularly difficult. The threat, needless to say, is even greater with those in positions of trust. Airport or airline employees and contractors with access to military installations with secure credentials are examples of individuals who are sometimes susceptible to these downfalls.

Where lone wolves or any violent threats are concerned, the goal is to stay “left of boom.” Popularized in military circles during the months and years after 9/11, the phrase “left of boom” refers to the moments before an explosion or attack – a period when you still have time to prepare and avert a crisis. Right of boom, by contrast, includes the chaotic and deadly moments after the explosion or attack.

Individuals who carry out these attacks do follow a similar path from ideological influence to radicalization to violence. This path begins with a grievance that leads to moral outrage and anger projection, which leads to some sort of trigger point or justification for violence. At this point in the process, most people do not act.

However, for the few who do act, either alone or in a group, the perpetrators tend to wade into an ideological end-state culminating in a terror attack. The fact that a process exists provides officials with some map to begin gathering information that might lead to prediction and prevention. Our public servants want to get left of boom in order to disrupt the chain of events that could lead to an attack.

At NEC, we’re passionate about the safety and security of all citizens. We are committed to providing solutions that assist our clients in identifying people, patterns, and predictions. For over 40 years, NEC Corporation has provided screening and background check information for purposes of law enforcement and applicant background checks. Our systems have cast the widest nets in identifying these individuals from searching local, state, FBI, DHS, Interpol and other biographic and biometrics databases.

NEC adheres to FBI, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and other industry standards for data exchange, as demonstrated by our customer install base. These deployments could allow law enforcement agencies to receive immediate notification of fault. Other random and frictionless screening with use of facial recognition may provide clues on relationships, associates and more. Such existing services can be augmented with publicly available biographic data including travel and purchase patterns to form the foundation of a collective dataset that would assist in analysis and identification of suspicious patterns leading to a prediction.

If we can look at an individual’s identity, patterns of life, and associations – among other data points – we can help our clients get closer to predicting and preventing lone-wolf attacks. We pride ourselves on being passionate problem solvers with an eye toward cutting-edge solutions that deliver precise and trusted results. If you’d like to hear more about our solutions and how we are solving the challenge of the threat among us, please contact us today.

People. Patterns. Predictions.
NEC Corporation of America’s Advanced Recognition Systems team is committed to developing and delivering public safety solutions that keep people safe.

Want more information about a Safety and Security solution?

Fill out the form, and we’ll have a solutions expert reach out to you.

The connect:ID Conference and Exposition held May 1-3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. has grown in size and significance as governments, the private sector, and consumers, increasingly realize the importance of secure identity recognition solutions. The three-day event drew together the world’s leading minds and offered end users practical advice, examined current government policies, and provided thought-provoking insights into the future of identity through the use of biometrics technology.

This year, NEC’s Advanced Recognition Systems was a Silver Sponsor at the conference. We demonstrated our fully integrated end-to-end identification solutions from collection to matching to enabling diverse missions. Our open architecture solutions integrate with other COTS technologies to seamless support customers.

One of the most popular attractions was the demo of the newly launched NeoFace Express, a rapid-access biometric solution based on NEC’s world-renowned facial recognition technology. This solution represents a new class of facial recognition system setting the stage for the future of travel, secure access and identity recognition. Its unique capabilities are the result of NEC’s years of research and global deployment experience in high-throughput identity authentication. With its robust capture process and sleek design, it delivers frictionless, seamless enrollment, verification and identification in a variety of settings, such as airports, border crossings, ports of entry/exit and other high-demand, high-traffic areas.

NEC also showcased other innovative identification technologies including SmartScan, NeoFace Watch, NeoScan45 and Integra-ID iBW5. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) matching algorithm recognition benchmarks have consistently proven that NEC’s biometric technologies have the fastest and most accurate face and fingerprint recognition algorithm and have the most resilient facial recognition technologies to viewing low angles, low-resolution images and poor image quality. View Our Complete NIST Rankings.

On Day One, I presented Airport Screening and Security of the Future. In his session, he covered the recent and future technology trends expected to bring change to screening and security at airports across the United States – from reservation to the traveler’s final destination. He examined video surveillance, multimodal biometric solutions, e-tickets, and pre-registration programs all geared toward enhancing security and convenience of passengers in airports. The same day, Benji also chaired a panel discussion, Disruptive Global Trends and the Role of Effective Identity Technology. The panel discussed the threat of terrorism, mass displacement and movement of populations, and political implications.

After a long day on the show floor, NEC hosted a private networking event at Casa Luca, where over 90 event attendees enjoyed a relaxing evening with their colleagues and the soulful cuisine from the Marche region of Italy’s central Adriatic coast.

In early March of this year, President Trump released a revised version of a previously released Executive Order titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” Section 8 of this Executive Order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expedite the completion of a biometric entry-exit tracking system. This new biometric enabled entry and exit vetting system poses a number of interesting challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders.

Department of Homeland Security and CBP Focus
Every day, approximately 100,000 flights take off around the globe with over 3.7 billion passengers projected to fly in 2017. The U.S. accounts for almost a quarter of that air travel currently. Our federal policy, infrastructure, manpower and technology are currently aligned to facilitate vetting individuals as they enter the country, but the same alignment is not in place to vet individuals exiting our borders. This allows foreign nationals to overstay visas and continue to live in the U.S. illegally. Addressing this exit challenge requires concerted efforts to align policy (domestic and international), invest in new border infrastructure, and leverage the best of biometric technology to ensure accurate, efficient identity vetting.

Border Entry and Exit Challenges
Luckily, the state-of-the-art in biometric vetting technology has evolved significantly since lawmakers initially envisioned the biometric entry/exit system in the wake of 9/11. Gone are the days of cost prohibitive and complex biometric technology. Fingerprints have long been considered one of the gold standard modalities of biometrics. These technologies require travelers to stop and submit fingerprints when crossing borders, thereby limiting throughput.

Face Recognition Provides Unique Benefits
The best solution for a modern biometric entry/exit system requires the stand-off, high-throughput, and extreme accuracy of facial recognition. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has expressed an interest in a future where crossing borders leverages the security, convenience, and speed of frictionless authentication through facial recognition. NEC sees a similar world where travelers and passengers move seamlessly through transportation spaces such as airports. Their data are collected without contact so moving individuals do not need to stop to present fingerprints or a secure tokens such as a passport, border card, or driver’s license.

Furthermore, facial recognition technology does not require a large footprint or major renovations to existing border infrastructure. Where there are infrastructure challenges at the borders and ports of entry, facial recognition can be installed with minimal disruption to travel patterns or the need for additional queues or checkpoints. Fast and effective, facial recognition also works at a distance which will minimize travel friction at high-traffic areas. Effective policy that synchronizes data from the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and various federal law enforcement agencies will create an iron-clad backbone for the U.S. government to know who is currently on U.S. soil.

The next 12 to 18 months will be an exciting time of rapid change for all stakeholders involved in protecting our borders. The deployment of an effective and efficient biometric entry/exit system will undoubtedly enhance the level of security and convenience for travelers crossing our borders. This system will also support the flow of commerce, free from security threats. These attributes will contribute to the safety, security, and wellbeing of our nation.

Contact us today if you like to learn more about how NEC’s Advanced Recognition Systems can help your government agency.

Want more information about a Safety and Security solution?

Fill out the form, and we’ll have a solutions expert reach out to you.

Having been at NEC for the last five years, I can honestly say – what an exhilarating ride! We just celebrated the 30th anniversary of NEC’s AFIS Internet User Group conference, held this year at the Omni Atlanta CNN Center.

I wish to express my highest gratitude to the AFIS Internet Board, the organizers of this conference and for the special efforts and leadership of Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Police Department, our host agencies.

The AFIS Internet Conference leads the way for the professional forensic community, and highlights the latest NEC developments that are impacting the law enforcement industry. This year’s event drew our largest international attendance to-date, with attendees from Australia, Greece, Mexico, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and Saudi Arabia.

As expected, the event did not disappoint. Below are a few of my favorite take-away thoughts and ideas from AFIS 2016.

Body language matters! Word choices and how our body moves as we talk can tell people a lot about us. Our keynote speaker was Janine Driver, CEO of the Body Language Institute and a former trainer for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Janine’s talk helped me understand the impact that my non-verbal communication has on others’ perceptions of me. She also showed our audience a few cutting edge body language secrets to help us develop better relationships in both our work and personal lives.

Georgia is a hotbed of law enforcement leadership and talent. With this year’s event being in Atlanta, we had access to some fantastic talent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. We heard from Vernon Keenan, director of the GBI, who spoke about leadership in law enforcement and how to transition your career out of “survival” mode and into a strong position of leadership. Mr. Keenan should know, as he has been promoted to every sworn rank in the agency since joining law enforcement in 1972. We also learned the GBI has ties to the very roots of AFIS Internet, as we heard from Debra Brown, who retired from that agency in 2014. She gave is an excellent history of AFIS Internet and certainly taught me things I didn’t know about this very special group of people.

All hail the Federal Bureau of Investigations! Rachel Pastorial from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Systems division has probably forgotten more about the use of facial comparison technology than I will learn in a lifetime. She provided us with a highly useful overview of the face comparison discipline, which should come in handy for many AFIS Internet members as they transition into additional biometrics disciplines outside of fingerprint and ten print identification.

The greatness of The First 48. We had the absolute pleasure of hearing from John X. Kim, senior executive producer and co-creator of “The First 48,” who is also the brain behind a laundry list of popular real-life crime shows, such as “Crime Scenes Uncovered,” “Steven Segal Lawman,” “Dallas SWAT,” “Detroit SWAT,” and much more. “The First 48” is a highly acclaimed real-life homicide investigation series now in its 16th season on A&E. Mr. Kim gave us the inside scoop on how that TV series came to be created, plus he provided some fascinating anecdotes about some of their most popular cases.

Also, one of the more popular attractions was the demo of SmartScan, our next-generation livescan solution launched earlier this year. John Dowden, senior product manager for NEC’s biometrics business, wowed audiences with the capabilities of a livescan station designed with a sleek footprint, intuitive Windows 10 user interface and high-horsepower capabilities for a variety of applications both in-house and out in the field.

So that’s it – if you missed AFIS Internet this year in Atlanta, you missed out! Of course, you can catch a glimpse or relive the excitement by checking out our photo library.

Want more information about a Safety and Security solution?

Fill out the form, and we’ll have a solutions expert reach out to you.